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Searchable Encrypted Relational Databases: Risks and Countermeasures

Abdelraheem, Mohamed Ahmed ; Andersson, Tobias and Gehrmann, Christian LU (2017) In Cryptology ePrint Archive 2017(24). p.1-20
Abstract
We point out the risks of protecting relational databases via Searchable Symmetric Encryption (SSE) schemes by proposing an inference attack exploiting the structural properties of relational databases. We show that record-injection attacks mounted on relational databases have worse consequences than their file-injection counterparts on un- structured databases. Moreover, we discuss some techniques to reduce the effectiveness of inference attacks exploiting the access pattern leakage existing in SSE schemes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that investigates the security of relational databases protected by SSE schemes.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to specialist publication or newspaper
publication status
published
subject
keywords
searchable symmetric encryption, relational databases, inference attacks, injection attacks, privacy constraints, vertical fragmentation
in
Cryptology ePrint Archive
volume
2017
issue
24
pages
20 pages
publisher
IACR
external identifiers
  • scopus:85030152876
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
218bd047-d6ca-4112-9147-4e4d087b4910
alternative location
http://eprint.iacr.org/2017/024
date added to LUP
2018-09-14 10:12:30
date last changed
2022-04-25 17:16:33
@misc{218bd047-d6ca-4112-9147-4e4d087b4910,
  abstract     = {{We point out the risks of protecting relational databases via Searchable Symmetric Encryption (SSE) schemes by proposing an inference attack exploiting the structural properties of relational databases. We show that record-injection attacks mounted on relational databases have worse consequences than their file-injection counterparts on un- structured databases. Moreover, we discuss some techniques to reduce the effectiveness of inference attacks exploiting the access pattern leakage existing in SSE schemes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that investigates the security of relational databases protected by SSE schemes.}},
  author       = {{Abdelraheem, Mohamed Ahmed and Andersson, Tobias and Gehrmann, Christian}},
  keywords     = {{searchable symmetric encryption; relational databases; inference attacks; injection attacks; privacy constraints; vertical fragmentation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{01}},
  number       = {{24}},
  pages        = {{1--20}},
  publisher    = {{IACR}},
  series       = {{Cryptology ePrint Archive}},
  title        = {{Searchable Encrypted Relational Databases: Risks and Countermeasures}},
  url          = {{http://eprint.iacr.org/2017/024}},
  volume       = {{2017}},
  year         = {{2017}},
}